Halloween meme -thingy

This meme has been going around and I was avoiding actual things to do, so I finally did it as well. I loved that the questions are a little different from most memes. :3

Werewolf – How has the hobby “transformed” you?
In a lot of ways, but some of it’s probably also because I’ve grown with this hobby. I started this in my teens and I’ve been at it for 10 years, so things are bound to change. I used to make up stories and draw, but once I got into dolls I switched to photography. I use the doll characters as inspiration for stories that I write as photostories, text and as RP with mizya. So, basically the hobby changed the way I express myself. Though, I still draw and paint from time to time. I also really got into sewing through this hobby, before it, I had no interest to make clothes.

Vampire – The dreaded sun! How do you feel about and cope with yellowing, or more generally the aging of these dolls?
I don’t really mind. Some resins age more gracefully than others, though, and some of my dolls are not as pretty as the others but those things can be hidden in photos. I’ve noticed that it doesn’t really matter whether a doll is kept in a box or on a shelf, or in light or dark: it yellows all the same. If you handle it sometimes, I mean. The parts I never use and keep in a dark box somewhere don’t yellow at the same rate, but what would be the point of having a doll and never taking it out? Those afraid of yellowing will probably gringe at the following but: I don’t especially protect my dolls from light. Two of my shelves are next to a window and the one on the far wall (furthest away) sometimes even get’s direct evening light (the other two don’t except for brief periods of time in the summer). Over the past 10 years I’ve come to the conclusion that urethane resin in normal colours does not get light damage in natural light (direct sunlight is another beast). If they did, all my dolls would be unevenly yellowed in the parts where their clothing protects them, but they’re not. Some are uneven completely randomly (usually yellower under the clothes). Otherwise they’ve all yellowed evenly and quite pleasantly due to reacting with air -not light. I’ve even failed at deliberately trying to yellow some parts by leaving them in the sun for a few weeks in the summer: no effect whatsoever, darned things. So bottom line is: I’m not afraid of yellowing and I accept it as a part of the doll’s aging process. The only time it really bothes me is when hybrid dolls start yellowing in completely different directions, grr.

Frankenstein’s Monster – Have you ever modded a doll? Tell us about it! If you could magically try any mod without fear of failure, what would you like to try?
Yes, lot’s of times. I think one of my firsts mods was to cut off Sebille’s ankles and reshape them for another company’s feet. Morbid, no? I’ve also sanded Miy’s boobs smaller twice, and then enlarged them (to a better shape) twice, but I have still to match the colour properly. Then there have been several mods on joints to make them more movable, removing of inner locking mechanisms, adding nails/claws, re-shaping pieces etc. The one mod I was most nervous about was giving Yami the extra arm holes in her back (because a grey skin limited doll), but that worked out okay too. Having been at this for as long as I have, I’m not that afraid of going at dolls with a dremel. If I didn’t have to fear failure, I’d embark on my next mod project right away: I’d epoxy Lilya’s (DIM GSE) torso solid, saw it it half just above the waist and reshape it into a nice joint. I’m just afraid I won’t be able to make the old boob joint as invisible and solid as I’d like. Airbrushing the skin to match is always a bit hard too.. I hate mixing normal skin paints.

Zombie – Have you ever caught the Marketplace virus?? Name some unplanned purchases that jumped out and “infected” you?
Hmm… I don’t think I have from the marketplace… I think all my second hand dolls are planned purchases… except maybe Tanith because she was so expensive I kind of just jumped at the opportunity -but I had wanted a Cuprit so she wasn’t totally unplanned. Most of my unplanned purchases are from companies. Damn those events and limiteds. :/

Skeleton – What’s your favorite body sculpt? Forget heads!
I don’t have one favorite because I have yet to find the perfect one, except that the 43cm Narae with small bust comes close. If her arms were a liiittle bit longer, the proportions would be perfect and she’d be perfect. But I do also wish her hips were bigger. If we’re speaking about female bodies (I’m most particular about those) there are a few that have the perfect looks but then the jointing completely ruins them for me, such as Raccoondoll, Iple nYID and several others. Out of existing female body sculpts, taking the jointing into consideration by favorites are probably Narae 43cm and the old Delf mature body, but there are also some other (discontinued) bodies I really love. Out of male bodies, there’s one I really like: Spirit doll proud. Aah, I’m so getting a doll with that body in the future. I also really like the old SG male body. I’m really not as picky with male bodies as I am with females but I do prefer them slim, so most bodies that are for sale nowadays are a no go. They’re also the reason I’m not buying male dolls that much anymore.

Witch – Name some dolls that are magical! Seeing them on your dashboard inspires you! Can be general sculpts or specific dolls owned by talented friends.
I don’t generally mind the sculpt of the doll as much as the styling. I can also be a fan of a certain doll in some photos and not like it as much in others. I tend to stop and look at one photo at a time, that’s the kind of person I am. But there are some dolls I’ve admired for a looong time. To name a few of the top of my head:
Syrinxfox’s Aki (El) & Kincaid (Sard)
Christy’s Annalisa (Soah)
Candygears’ Mr. Have (Sabik)
SDink’s Job (Hound)
And then there are few I remember very clearly but can’t remember the names of (I’m so bad with names it’s embarrassing). There are also some that have been sold by their owners and some who’s owners have disappeared from the hobby, unfortunately. In the past years I’ve stepped back from the community and concentrated more on my own dolls, so I don’t really have many new names to name. But I do admire a lot of dolls, I just don’t know their names. ^^;

Ghost – The one that got away. Do any limited or rare dolls “haunt” you to this day?
Hmm, well the original grey Onyx returns to haunt me from time to time. I’ve had a few chances to purchase her second hand later though, but I’ve passed each time. Spiritdoll’s Dark is also on my mind from time to time, although he’d no longer fit into my crew and in the character I wanted for him. I also had to pass on Asleep Eidolon’s Lorelei mermaid because as a fullset she was too expensive and I never needed all the parts she came with. Then, there’s Glorydoll Lucy. It’s the one doll my sister said she likes and I wanted to buy it for her to sit on her shelf somewhere, but never did and then the company disapeared (well, I’d like her for myself as well), but whenever one pops up, I can’t afford it. I occasionally search photos of those four, so I guess in a way they haunt me. I also missed on one Idealian but I still have hope that I’ll get him some day. I don’t think there are many dolls that are out of reach, if you just have the patience to wait for the opportunity. ^^

Freddy Krueger – What is your worst doll nightmare? Has it happened or not?
The one “what if” that seems to always be at the back of my head is my whole collection burning down. But it’s not just the dolls, I have a lot of other physical objects I love and I would basically have to build up my life from scratch if they all burned away. So yes, that is my number one fear. I have a ton of dolls that are irreplaceable for one reason or another and then all the clothes and items and patterns… losing them all at once would be devastating.

Jason Voorhees – If you were gonna make Halloween costumes for your dolls (or if you plan to!) what costumes would you make?
I have made some… but if I were to do it now, I’d make a few witches and then Kilbas would get something dark and ragged with his bone parts, and some of my white skin girls would be haunting ghosts. Nothing specific in my mind, though.

Chucky (possessed doll) – Have you ever been scared of dolls or a certain doll? Be honest!
Oh yeah, there’s one doll I find absolutely terrifying: it was a Bambicrony event doll called Pingping. That thing is horrifying to me beyond measure, for real. There have also been some other disturbing dolls around in the past but that one is something that really comes back to my mind whenever I think of dolls I don’t like. xD Some artist dolls are also so beyond my tastes that they teeter on the edge of disturbing for me.

*****

Most of everyone has already done this so I won’t be tagging anyone, but do it if you haven’t yet. :D

You can copy/paste the questions:

Werewolf – How has the hobby “transformed” you?

Vampire – The dreaded sun! How do you feel about and cope with yellowing, or more generally the aging of these dolls?

Frankenstein’s Monster – Have you ever modded a doll? Tell us about it! If you could magically try any mod without fear of failure, what would you like to try?

Zombie – Have you ever caught the Marketplace virus?? Name some unplanned purchases that jumped out and “infected” you?

Skeleton – What’s your favorite body sculpt? Forget heads!

Witch – Name some dolls that are magical! Seeing them on your dashboard inspires you! Can be general sculpts or specific dolls owned by talented friends.

Ghost – The one that got away. Do any limited or rare dolls “haunt” you to this day?

Freddy Krueger – What is your worst doll nightmare? Has it happened or not?

Jason Voorhees – If you were gonna make Halloween costumes for your dolls (or if you plan to!) what costumes would you make?

Chucky (possessed doll) – Have you ever been scared of dolls or a certain doll? Be honest!